Óscar Esplá was born in Alicante, Spain in 1886 or 1889. This places Esplá in the same generation as his countrymen Joaquin Turina (b.1883) and Federico Mompou (b.1893).

His output includes a dozen stage works (some unfinished) and several large scale symphonic pieces incorporating chorus. His purely instrumental works include an unpublished Symphony in D (1912), orchestral arrangements of his own piano pieces, two suites for chamber orchestra based on folksongs, and the Symphony ‘Aitana’ (1958). There are two published String Quartets, a Piano Trio, Piano Quintet and several duo works with piano.

The piano was an important feature of Esplá’s early successes: he was an outstanding pianist and performer of his own early neo-classical pieces Romanza antigua, Impressiones musicales Op.2, and the Scherzo Op.5. The piano would remain a vehicle for his profoundest emotions throughout his life. Much of his keyboard music consists of ‘impressions’, particularly of a child’s world or ‘evocations’ of the landscapes of Alicante.